1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is concerned with an aircraft lighting device. More specifically, the present invention is concerned with an aircraft wingtip device and associated lighting arrangement for illumination of the inward and/or outward faces of the wingtip device.
2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Wingtip devices are becoming increasingly common on commercial aircraft. Aside from the reduction of lift induced drag caused by wingtip vortices, wingtip devices also offer a vertically oriented area of the aircraft on which to place advertising and logos which are visible by both the passengers (on the fuselage facing, or inward, side) and by third parties (on the opposite, or outward, side).
It is generally desirable to illuminate the surfaces of the wingtip device in poorly lit conditions, to improve visibility for passengers and passers-by.
Because wingtip devices are often designed into existing airframes, there is limited ability to integrate illumination devices into the wing itself in order to project onto the fuselage facing side of the wingtip device. As such, in dark conditions, the logo and/or advertising on the wingtip device is not visible. In addition, because there is no structure outboard of the wingtip device, there is no component on which a lighting arrangement can be placed in order to project onto that side either.
It will be noted that logos and advertising on the vertical tail faces are illuminated by lighting systems positioned on the horizontal tail stabilisers. Because the vertical tail was integrated into the original airframe design, provision for illumination is made when the aircraft is designed in the first place. This is often not the case for wingtip devices which are integrated into the airframe when it is redesigned or upgraded. Furthermore, the solutions used for vertical tail plane illumination are not suitable for wingtips, not least because there is no structure on which to mount the illumination device outboard of the wingtip devices.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus capable of illumination of both the inward and outward facing sides of a wingtip device.